Unthinkable
by Solitary Watcher
Summary: What would change if Willow was shot and killed instead of Tara? The results are unthinkable.
1. Death and Horror

Willow smiled and reached her arms out to hold Tara once again. Stepping towards each other, the window behind Willow shattered and Willow fell into Tara's outstretched arms. Tara stumbled with the sudden weight and instantly knew that Willow was dead. She fell to the floor with Willow's body in her lap. An inhuman screech sprung from her lips. She heard shouts from outside and Xander panicking.

"Willow? Willow, honey, wake up. Wake up!" Tara's head was racing. _Dead? Willow can't be dead. She's too strong, too perfect. _Outside she could hear Xander calling Buffy's name. _Buffy too? What's going on?_ Tara laid Willow on the floor gently and stood. Her jaw was set and her eyes were flashing with hate and rage. She scooped up her backpack filled with herbs and candles and was gone. All Xander heard was the front door slamming before he was dialing 911.

knock knock Giles opened his door cautiously, but threw it open when he saw Tara. "Tara! How are you doing today?" She pushed her way inside. Giles straightened his glasses and stared at her in shock. "Tara, what's wrong? What happened?"

"Where are your books?" Her voice was hollow.

"Um… Well some are in the living room, but most are at the Magic Shop. Do you need to borrow them?" But before he finished speaking, she was gone and he was talking to the wind.

The ambulance was at the Summers' house in mere minutes, but to Xander they were a lifetime. Literally. Buffy was dying in front of him. He had tried to stop the bleeding, but bullet wounds are not easily fixed. Only when Buffy was being lifted onto a stretcher did he take the time to look around the yard. An upstairs window was broken. _Guess Warren's hand-eye coordination wasn't perfect. _But it was enough. Buffy was dying.

The bell above the shop door jingled as Tara entered. Anya was fidgeting behind the counter. There was no one else in the shop and she was most likely worrying about not having enough money, if there was such a thing. "Are you here to buy something? Cause there isn't a meeting tonight and nothing's free and I'd really like your money."

"Where are Mr. Giles' books?"

"Why? Are you buying one?" Tara just looked at her for the first time since entering the small shop. Anya saw the look in her eyes. "They're in the back room. But be careful! That stuff's dangerous and I'll have Buffy kick you out of the gang if you sue me!"

Tara was in the back room in a second and had her hands in the books in another. Actually _in_ the books. Arcane writing, spells, chants appeared on her hands and traveled over her body. Her eyes went dark; her hair turned black. Sweet Tara. She was evil, strong and pure. It was unthinkable.


	2. Blood Guide

"Tara? Um… What're you doing?" Anya was staring at her in horror. "You're going to have to pay for those."

"Out of my way," Tara said in a dead voice. As she strode out of the shop, bookshelves toppled, tables cracked, and glass shattered.

Anya glanced around the shop. "And all that, too! And that table isn't cheap!"

Giles had called Buffy as soon as Tara left his house in a rush. A frantic, weeping Xander answered. He told Giles about Buffy being shot, and they rushed to the hospital. There they found Buffy in the critical ward. "She'll be okay. We got the bullet out easily and she's healing fast," a doctor told them. Xander and Giles gave each other a knowing glance. Of course she was healing fast. Their relief didn't last long. The doctor continued, "but we'll need to file a report about the injury. Which one of you is Alexander Harris?" Xander raised his hand and was ushered off to an office.

Tara was alone in her dorm room, kneeling over one of Willow's blouses. With a knife she pricked her palm and smeared a few drops of blood on the blouse. She set candles in a diamond shape around her. Murmuring a few words under her breath, Tara lit the candles with a long match. In the flickering light she whispered, "Reperio iuguolo, ostendo sum him volo. Cruor quod nex quod dolor. Unus est infractus, unus est mortuus. Cruor of interficio oh sic rutilus." _Find the killer, reveal him to me. Blood and death and misery. One is broken, one is dead. Blood of murder, oh so red._ An ancient rhyme. A small red glowing circle appeared in the shirt, absorbing the blood. It grew in size as the blood disappeared. Tara stood solemnly. The orb rose too. "Find him. Go." Tara gave the command and the orb flew towards the door. She would find Willow's murderer.


	3. Healing

"So, Mr. Harris, what happened at the Summers' house today?" The doctor had out a clipboard and was taking down notes. Xander was sweating. What could he say? _I tell them an enemy shot her, they ask who. I tell them I don't know, they investigate. Why couldn't Mr. G be the witness, he'd know what to say._

"Um… I really don't know what happened. Me an' Buffy were talking outside, I heard gunshots, and Buffy fell over. I saw that she was bleeding and called 911. I don't know anything else. Can I go visit her now?" Would they believe him?

They did. The doctor nodded. "Thank you. Yes, you may visit, but be quiet. She needs her rest, though she is healing at an incredible rate." With that, Xander was dismissed. He was pointed to Buffy's room. She was lying on a hospital bed with an IV in her arm. Giles was sitting next to her on a fold-out chair. He was holding Buffy's hand and his head was bowed.

"How is she?" Giles looked up at Xander. His eyes were worried.

"She's healing fast. They say she'll be out of the hospital in a few days. Do you know what happened?"

Xander sighed. "I don't know…. We were just talking, and then… bang bang scream blood hospital. It's all just a blur." He sighed again. "I just wish I knew who it was."

She knew who it was. Warren, the little slug. Tara was standing outside his house, red orb hovering next to her. "Warren… Knock knock, anybody home?" The wind blew around her, but not a strand of Tara's now-black hair moved. She flicked her wrist at the orb and it faded into nothingness. Filled with subtle rage, Tara walked to the front door and rung the bell.


	4. Gotcha!

"Hello? Hello? Buffy?" Apparently everyone had forgotten about Dawn. She arrived home from school to an empty house. She walked upstairs and dumped her backpack in her room. Then she remembered that Tara and Willow didn't have plans for today. "Willow! Tara! Are you home?" She ran to their room and burst in. It didn't take her long to see the body on the floor. "Willow? Oh my god… Willow?" Dawn couldn't take her eyes off of Willow, who was lying in a small pool of blood. Dawn sunk to the floor with tears in her eyes. "Willow…"

_I'm doing this for Willow. He deserves everything he gets. _The old Tara was ready to cry again when Warren's door opened. A woman who looked slightly like him stood in the doorway. Tara smiled at her. "Hi. You must be Warren's mom. I need to talk to him. Is he home?" Tara hoped she didn't scare the lady; she knew she must look like Hell if she looked at all like what she was feeling.

"Oh no, I'm sorry. He went out a while ago. Should I have him call you when he gets home?"

"No, it's okay. Do you know where he went?" Tara was talking through clenched teeth. _Not home? Where could he be? He's a nerd, for Pete's sake!_

"Um… He was going for a walk… to the park, I think. Yes, the park." Tara thanked her and rushed off towards the park. She sighed as she crossed over the bridge where she and Willow had danced while under a demon's spell.

There he was. Warren was walking quickly towards the nearby woods. _He's not getting away. Not after he killed Willow. _She chased after him. The sun was setting over the ocean. Soon it would be dark.


	5. Tears and popcorn

It was dark. She had never felt so alone. Dawn was still cowering in Willow and Tara's room. No one had been home for hours. _Willow's dead. She's… dead._

"Giles, I'm heading back to Buffy's. Call me if she wakes up." Xander walked outside and drove to Buffy's house. Walking around to the back, he saw blood sprinkling the grass. With a burst of energy he took a hose and washed the blood away. Once all trace of blood was gone, Xander went into the kitchen through the back door. Just then he remembered Dawn.

"Dawn? Dawn, are you home? Dawnie?" When she heard his voice, Dawn began screaming Xander's name. He jumped, then raced upstairs. He ran into Willow and Tara's room. He froze when he saw the body, with Dawn curled next to it, screaming. He rushed to her side. "Dawn, it's okay. It'll be okay. Come on, let's get out of here." He helped Dawn to her feet and brought her downstairs. Once she was settled onto the couch with a blanket and some popcorn, he dialed 911 again. _Twice in one day. This must be a record. _

"Um, yes, 911? We have a dead body in our house…. Her name's Willow Rosenberg…. Okay. No, I don't know what happened. Yes. Okay, thank you." He hung up the phone and walked over to the couch. "Mind sharing the popcorn?"

Giles was still at the hospital with Buffy when Willow was wheeled in. He could only stare after her pale body being rushed down the hall. In less than ten seconds he was on a payphone to Xander.

"Xander, I just… saw Willow. What happened?"

"Not sure. I came to Buffy's house and found Dawn sitting next to the body, crying. We came downstairs and I called 911. Do you think this has to do with Buffy?"

"I think so. Two people shot at the same house on the same day. That's no coincidence."

"Yeah…. Well, me and Dawnie are eating popcorn, but call me if you learn anything more. Bye."

"Goodbye."

Xander looked back at Dawn and grabbed another handful of popcorn. She was looking at him with huge, scared eyes.

"What happened to Buffy?" A tear spilled from her eye and rolled down her face. "Xander, what happened?"

He took a deep breath. This wasn't going to be easy. "Dawn, stay calm. Buffy's fine. She's in the hospital recovering, but she'll be home in a few days."

Dawn was becoming hysterical. "What happened?"

"She was shot. We don't know why, we don't know who. But she's fine. Those Slayer powers come in pretty handy. Unfortunately Willow didn't have healing powers. Giles thinks she was shot when Buffy was." Now, thinking about his friends, one broken but healing fast, one dead, Xander was about to cry. He was one of few people with dry eyes. Giles, Dawn, and the old Tara were all weeping.


	6. Spilling the Beans

_A/N: Someone has asked what the red orb Tara had was. To clear things up, it was a locator spell, like the blood map Willow used._

* * *

Warren disappeared into the woods with Tara on his heels. "Warren," she said just loud enough for him to hear. He spun around and saw her for the first time. "Why'd you kill her?" He looked shocked.

"Buffy? She's dead? Well, she had it coming to her. She-"

"Not her. Willow. Why'd you kill her?"

"I never went near your little _girlfriend_." He had recently heard about Willow being a lesbian. _Well, she never _could _get a guy. Except for Oz, who dumped her._

"Then why is she dead?" When Warren looked at her, Tara confirmed his fears. Nodding, she spoke. "Yes. She's dead, and you killed her."

"B-but I didn't mean to. Hey! I've got nothing against Willow. I didn't mean to hurt her."

"Sure you didn't. Just I like I don't mean to hurt you in about three seconds."

Warren turned and bolted. Tara just smirked. _Run all you like. I'll always find you. _Rage swam through her bloodstream and she started after him.

"Dawn, I'm going to go to the hospital. Will you be okay?"

"Can I come too?"

"No. You're staying here. No. You're not convincing me to bring you along." Dawn opened her eyes wide and stuck out her bottom lip. Xander groaned. "Dawn… That's not fair. You know I can't say no to the puppy eyes. Argh… Okay, get your shoes on. But if Buffy yells at me I'm blaming you."

"Fine with me." Dawn slipped a pair of sandals on and they left. Dawn's eyes finally dry and Xander's just about ready to cry.

"Buffy? How are you feeling?" Buffy had just woken up. Giles had tried to contact Xander, but he wasn't answering the phone. Buffy sat up and rubbed her face.

"Okay, I guess. What happened?" She was still a bit out of it because of the drugs from her surgery.

"You were shot, Buffy."

"What? I was what?"

"Shot. While you and Xander were talking. Do you remember anything?"

"No, I-" She rubbed her eyes. "I'm so tired."

"Buffy, there's something else I have to tell you…. Willow's dead. She was shot too." For a second Buffy just looked at him. Then his words worked their way past the drug-induced haze.

"What? She's… dead?" Buffy began to cry. "How could she be dead? Willow? Are you sure? Could it-"

"Buffy," Giles cut in. "I know how you feel. We all do. But, yes, she's dead." He took off his glasses and wiped them on his shirt, turning his head to hide his tears from Buffy. "Xander's watching Dawn. She's the one who found Willow's body."

"Oh my god, Dawn. Is she okay?"

"She's fine. Xander's watching her, and he said he had calmed her down." A nurse came in and told Buffy to lie down. She did and shut her eyes tight.

"Willow."


End file.
